1st Day of School and Other Adventures

Well yesterday, on the first Sunday that I'm in Catholic Disneyworld, (if you'll forgive the extended metaphor) I thought I might as well stand in line at Space Mountain. So, I went to the Vatican. I just decided, since it was Sunday morning, that I would go to Mass at S. Maria in Trastevere and then just go where the bells took me. Poetic, I know. So I walked along the river, enjoying the sun, etc. when I came to a bridge which I took for (given the gigantic marble angels every two feet) Ponte Sant'Angelo. Across the bridge was Castello Sant'Angelo, which I have fondly dubbed the Pope's Pimpin' Party Pad (BLASPHEMER!) given its previous uses... and it's previous occupants. Just Google Roderigo Borgia/Alexander IV. You'll get it.

Anywho, I headed up the street toward the Basillica, supressing wonder, but also rather amused at how many tourist shops there were along the side of the streets, and at how many people were standing with their arms spread wide as if they were in front of Cinderella's Castle. Seriously, I don't think anyone in St. Peter's Square, or inside the Basillica when I went inside, was paying the least bit attention to anything around them. No one was really LOOKING at anything... just taking pictures of themselves and their friends in front of some Pope's tomb and then moving on like cattle. I call these peices of work Pope-arazzi. And really, all they're good for is the clever play on words.

But in all honestly, St. Peter's, while incredibly gorgeous and awe inspiring in its grandiosity, is one of the least holy places I think I've ever been. It doesn't seem like a church, and it doesn't feels like a museum. It does, in point of fact, feel most like an amusment park. This kind of made me sad. With all that incredible art and architecture created by devout (or not so devout but well-paid) men in the name of worshipping their God, to have it turn into some kind of mockery of itself and a hot tourist destination a la the Eiffel Tower seems really detrimental to the message. Ugh. Anyway...

Speaking of devout men who created beautiful art in the name of Christianity... there were a bunch of the Pope-arazzi sardined around a glass encased chapel at the back of the church, so I went to sneak in and have a look. Really, famous and beloved (especially by me) works of art should not be allowed to sneak up on me like that. I literally had to go stand in a corner and take slow deep breaths to keep myself from hyperventilating. I, like, legitimately started hyperventilating. I had no idea that Michelangelo's Pieta was in the church and not the museum. It just popped out of nowhere, and I almost had a heart attack.

For the rest of the day I just bopped around here there and everywhere... I ended up walking down by the Colloseum and around Circus Maximus... which was incredibly beautiful at twilight, my favorite time of day here. I ate gelatto for dinner, which I don't recommend doing every night, but it was delicious, so I allowed it this once. And then I came home and had wine and chatted with my roommates about school, etc.

My first class today was at 9, and a two minute bus ride from our house. That's nice, but I think that until it gets too cold I'm just going to get up a little earlier and walk. I really love walking. But it was Art and Architecture of Imperial Rome, taught by this scary smart Belgian dude... none of our classes takes place on AUR's campus. All of them are on site. Cha-ching!

I had a super long break between when that class got out at noon and when my Intensive Italian course started at 3:40, so I went to sit in my lovely park that I like so much. I read a new book that I got from an English language bookstore in Tras that gives you 20% off if you're a student. I'm sure the cute little old British dude who runs it and I are going to be tight by December. But Italian was great... the prof's name is Mauritzio Mamorstein. Yeah. Ethnic fusion, anyone? He's very funny and speaks beautiful Italian. Today he taught us some of the 'Italian sign language' that the very Mediterranean Italians use in their everyday speech. Some of it wasn't very polite, but good to know in case we're on the street and are getting verbally abused, I suppose. Hopefully I won't sound like such an ass after a few weeks of class with him.

Then I had Mythology, in which I am most certainly the Hermione Granger. Why does that always happen to me? Oh well, I'm going to get the most out of this experience, so if everyone else in the class wants to sit and listen to the prof and I have a conversation, good on them. I'm going to discuss, and the fashion and accounting majors are just going to have to keep up. (Side note: I don't mean to be disparaging about either fashion or accounting. I'm positive that I'm rubbish at both of those things. But it is frustrating when you're trying to discuss the theory of myth making and all you hear besides your own voice is crickets).

Tonight I made myself gnocchi (yum!) and Christine, Michelle and Rachel came over to walk around Tras with me. They live up on the other side of Gianucuolo, in a rather less quintessentially Italian neighborhood, so I told them I would show them around. We walked along the river and through the Piazza S. Maria, etc... it was fun, in no small part because I knew exactly where I was going the whole time. That was encouraging.

Well, more class tomorrow... I won't have a full schedule to report on until Thursday, since I have different classes everyday. I did find out today that I'm taking three more credit hours than anyone else from K (6 classes in lieu of our usual 3). I don't know how I managed to do that without them noticing, but since I like all my classes so far, I'm not about to tell on myself and risk having to drop something that I really should know about. Yay learning!

I'm. Such. A. Huge. Dork.